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My folks were doing some renos downstairs (the weather warmed up considerably the last few days) and they thought it would be a great time to do some of the plumbing repairs which required dad to break a hole in the cement down there to feed a pipe through to the outside ...
... due to the warmer weather the compost heap has started doing it's thing with breaking down (and smelling ripe) and attracting rats to our yard (as well as a few owls have showed up, attracted to the rats) ...
Normally, not a big deal.
However...
This time the warm weather heating up the compost heap attracting the rats has had an interesting twist which has made things pretty exciting around here the last few days.
One of the rats managed to find the hole in the cement and got into the basement.
The night before last my folks and their dog were going crazy nearly all day pulling shelves away from walls... poking under furnature with the broom, setting traps and letting their dog try and catch the thing. The hounds were going crazy upstairs begging to be let downstairs to help out in the rukus ... but my folks said no... they were having a tough enough time down there with Bella (their dog).
So anyway... last night mom found some blood under her kitchen sink so she figured Bella must have got the rat ... everyone settled down, the dogs seemed to go back to normal ... all was well...
Ha! <_<
So ... there I was all curled up on the couch, with all the lights off, after midnight, watching a scarey show, :mellow: ..... all by myself ... the hounds were tucked away in the kennel for the night ... the children were all in bed ... the house was quiet ...
Then suddenly, at a very tense part of the show .... I see out of the corner of my eye a large dark shape scootch across the floor along the wall! :blink:
... At first I was like ... no-o-o-o-o-o couldn't be... I must just be spooked from the movie ... wrapped the blanket a little tighter around myself and tried to relax back into the couch ...
... but then!
<div align="center">*scratch-rustle-scratch-bump!* </div>
Right underneath me!!!!
I tell you I flew off the couch and across the room and tossed open the kennel door and rudely woke up Mocha and Beldin and ordered them to "go get that dirty rat!"
They both slowly blinked at me like "huh?! You gotta be kiddin me... it's after midnight ... talk to us again in the morning!" And rolled over and Beldin promptly started snoring!
Here I have a rat ... in my house ... and this "hunter" is snoring! <_<
So fine ... I leave them be and try track the thing down myself... to no avail ... 3am comes around... 4am ... I'm up on the couch... my eyes glued open and jumping and twitching at every *scramble* noise I hear.
Morning rolls around, the hounds wake up of their own accord... and after a morning pee and a good breakfast they FINALLY seem to realize, "Hey ... there's a new smell to the air" ...
Both Mocha and Beldin have been "tracking" most of the day... wandering around stuffing their noses into the corners and snorting and growling and sniffing.
I think they may have found where the thing's primary hiding spot is (at least they both seem to be going back to the one place more than others) ... they keep trying to stuff their heads between the wall and the cupboard where the built in dishwasher is ... so we opened the cupboard and found evidence of the rat ... my dad has set some traps in there with peanut butter ...
And as I sit here typing this both Mocha and Beldin are in "hunt mode" still ... I don't think they've stopped moving at all snce this morning... they're sniffing and tracking and looking and listening and once in a while they growl in the direction of the dishwasher ...
... as for me... I think I'll leave the kennel door open tonight ... and maybe a nightlight on! :lol:
... due to the warmer weather the compost heap has started doing it's thing with breaking down (and smelling ripe) and attracting rats to our yard (as well as a few owls have showed up, attracted to the rats) ...
Normally, not a big deal.
However...
This time the warm weather heating up the compost heap attracting the rats has had an interesting twist which has made things pretty exciting around here the last few days.
One of the rats managed to find the hole in the cement and got into the basement.
The night before last my folks and their dog were going crazy nearly all day pulling shelves away from walls... poking under furnature with the broom, setting traps and letting their dog try and catch the thing. The hounds were going crazy upstairs begging to be let downstairs to help out in the rukus ... but my folks said no... they were having a tough enough time down there with Bella (their dog).
So anyway... last night mom found some blood under her kitchen sink so she figured Bella must have got the rat ... everyone settled down, the dogs seemed to go back to normal ... all was well...
Ha! <_<
So ... there I was all curled up on the couch, with all the lights off, after midnight, watching a scarey show, :mellow: ..... all by myself ... the hounds were tucked away in the kennel for the night ... the children were all in bed ... the house was quiet ...
Then suddenly, at a very tense part of the show .... I see out of the corner of my eye a large dark shape scootch across the floor along the wall! :blink:
... At first I was like ... no-o-o-o-o-o couldn't be... I must just be spooked from the movie ... wrapped the blanket a little tighter around myself and tried to relax back into the couch ...
... but then!
<div align="center">*scratch-rustle-scratch-bump!* </div>
Right underneath me!!!!
I tell you I flew off the couch and across the room and tossed open the kennel door and rudely woke up Mocha and Beldin and ordered them to "go get that dirty rat!"
They both slowly blinked at me like "huh?! You gotta be kiddin me... it's after midnight ... talk to us again in the morning!" And rolled over and Beldin promptly started snoring!
Here I have a rat ... in my house ... and this "hunter" is snoring! <_<
So fine ... I leave them be and try track the thing down myself... to no avail ... 3am comes around... 4am ... I'm up on the couch... my eyes glued open and jumping and twitching at every *scramble* noise I hear.
Morning rolls around, the hounds wake up of their own accord... and after a morning pee and a good breakfast they FINALLY seem to realize, "Hey ... there's a new smell to the air" ...
Both Mocha and Beldin have been "tracking" most of the day... wandering around stuffing their noses into the corners and snorting and growling and sniffing.
I think they may have found where the thing's primary hiding spot is (at least they both seem to be going back to the one place more than others) ... they keep trying to stuff their heads between the wall and the cupboard where the built in dishwasher is ... so we opened the cupboard and found evidence of the rat ... my dad has set some traps in there with peanut butter ...
And as I sit here typing this both Mocha and Beldin are in "hunt mode" still ... I don't think they've stopped moving at all snce this morning... they're sniffing and tracking and looking and listening and once in a while they growl in the direction of the dishwasher ...
... as for me... I think I'll leave the kennel door open tonight ... and maybe a nightlight on! :lol: